Tales from the Roszelian 728th Imperial Guard Regiment
by Crooked Jack
Summary: Nathaniel has just been recruited into the Imperial Guard, and is being shipped out to his first campaign. With his faith, training, and new gear, he believes himself able to slay any and all heretics or xenos that stand in the Immortal God-Emperor's path. But what will he do when an ancient, unkillable, and unimaginably powerful foe shadows his and his friends' every footstep?
1. Rude Awakening

Hello! This is my first entry to the site, and one of my first attempts at writing stories in general. This first chapter is just me getting a feel for my writing, I will get to actual missions and killing in the second chapter. All characters and events are completely made up by me and in no way based off any real person or event, or person/event existing in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. I do not own the Warhammer 40,000 universe, I just enjoy the tabletop game and its lore greatly. Also, I apologize for any formatting errors, seeing as I typed half of this on my phone and half on the computer. Rated M for future chapters.

* * *

 **Hive-World Charatta IV**  
 **999.M41, Emperor's Day**

People ran through the streets, trailing costumes and shouting to all passing by in joy and festiveness. The skybridges and hive towers of the upper hives were covered as much as possible in Imperial banners, Aquilae, and statues of Imperial Saints in celebration of this holy holiday. The PDF was marching in parades everywhere one looked, being trailed by priests of the Imperial Cult chanting in High Gothic. Onlookers called out in admiration and patriotism as the planetary governor, having given himself a barge in the parade passed them.

"Halt, citizen. This is a restricted area of the hive. Please return to the festivities." Said a PDF officer that blocked the path of a man wearing black robes.  
"I'm terribly sorry sir, but I simply must get through here. You see, if I don't, my brother will-" the man was cut off and staggered back as he was shoved by the PDF officer.  
"The hive's plasma generator banks are always off limits to citizens. Leave." The PDF officer reiterated. The hooded man nodded slowly at this, as if processing the information.  
"Lacobis." the hooded man said.  
"Wha-" The PDF officer never got to finish as most of his head disappeared, with a large and heavily muscled man in Imperial Guard carapace armor appearing from behind him with a shotgun.  
"He'll do THAT, you grox shit." the hooded man hissed at the body on the ground as he kicked it. "Let's continue, brother." he said as he disappeared into the door the now-dead man was guarding. Following the twisting and turning corridor, the two men came to the plasma generator banks. After quickly dispatching the two guards inside, Lacobis motioned for the hooded man to get to the generators.  
"Place the bombs so we can be done here, Hektor." Lacobis said. Hektor quickly placed several melta bombs on the nearest generator and rushed for the exit as Lacobis followed him out. The two brothers rushed to the nearest elevator, which they took as high as they could and then stepped off onto the platform. "We're done here." Lacobis spoke into his comm-bead as they got out into the open, with nothing above them but sky. Suddenly, their vision was obscured by a flash of light and they both staggered, disoriented as they were from the teleportation.  
"General Lacobis, Preacher Hektor, you two have done well." a deep and booming voice said as they came to their senses and fell to their knees before their master. "General, do the honors." they said as Lacobis then drew a remote detonator from his pocket and activated it. Hektor rushed to the window just in time to see the hive city blossom slowly in an orb of blue light.  
"For Chaos!" everyone in the room shouted.

People ran through the streets, trailing costumes and shouting to all passing by in terror and fear. The skybridges and hive towers of the upper hives were covered as much as possible in Imperial banners, Aquilae, and statues of Imperial Saints in celebration of this holy holiday. The PDF was scattering everywhere one looked, being trailed by horror-stricken priests of the Imperial Cult shouting out in High Gothic. Onlookers called out in grief and despair as the planetary governor, having given himself a barge in the parade, tumbled off the skybridge into the growing blue glow coming from the lower hives. It consumed everything, causing the entire hive to collapse and sink into itself.

 **Imperial Navy Dreadnought "Righteous Fire"**  
 **Orbiting Roszelia Prime**

"Damn it all!" The colonel shouted as he slammed his fist into the hololithic projector.  
"Refrain from damaging the projector, Colonel Baxter. The machine spirit is getting agitated." A harsh, synthesized novice responded as the exceptionally tall Tech-Priest loomed over the projection.  
"This same damn cult keeps hitting key points in this campaign's war effort. And to top it off, someone deep-striked them out this time!" Baxter exclaimed as he stopped himself from hitting the table again. A shadowy figure reclining in the unlit corner of the room seemingly turned their head slightly.  
"That is troubling news indeed. It seems that the cult has powerful, or at least wealthy allies with access to higher technology. What say you about this, Captain?" They spoke slowly and thoughtfully. The Captain of the ship trembled in fear for a moment before swallowing and stepping forward.  
"I... It seems that the energy signal given off by the teleportation _does_ match that of an Adeptus Astartes' deep-strike, correct Archmagos?" The captain asked as the towering Tech-Priest nodded in affirmation. "Perhaps... perhaps a group of former Astartes following the Ruinous Powers is assisting the cult?" The Captain shrank back as the person in the corner looked over at him.  
"Mobilize the Roszelian 728th Armored." The man said to Baxter as he stood up and stepped into the light, revealing a slightly short, bearded and unkempt elderly man covered in tattoos wearing a worn, threadbare suit.  
"Right away, Lord Inquisitor." Baxter said as he snapped off a salute and marched out of the Command Room.

 **Roszelia Prime**

Nathaniel woke with a start as the Chimera troop transport he and his squadmates had packed themselves into for warmth and shelter against the perpetual blizzard that always raged across his homeworld's surface's engines started up and began to move forward. After several minutes, the Chimera stopped and someone hit something against the side, shouting for them to come out. As his squad carefully navigated a way out of the cramped space and lined up outside next to several other squads all wearing the long light grey greatcoats, furs, and silvery flak armor of the Roszelian Imperial Guard regiments and their tanks and troop transports, Nathaniel realized that the entire company must be coming together on this stretch of frozen metal, albeit slowly. After waiting for a long while, watching more and more tanks roll onto the platform and dispense their squads and crews into the cold snow, a Valkyrie came down from somewhere above them and landed in front of the formation. Stepping out was a man in a richly decorated and well made gray Colonel's uniform and furs of the Roszelian 728th, the regiment that Nathaniel was apart of that had only been formed days before, with only the tank crewmen themselves and the NCOs having seen actual combat. Meaning that Nathaniel, along with most of his regiment, were newly trained Whiteshields. The entire line snapped to attention and saluted the Colonel as he emerged from his craft, being trailed by a man in a black greatcoat with a peaked officer's cap and a sash, as well as the majority of the company's officers.  
"At ease!" The Colonel shouted into the blizzard at his men as he returned the salute. "I am Colonel Baxter, commander of this regiment! Yes, I know that you were granted a week's leave before the regiment would be deployed, but due to unforeseen events, that has been rescinded! All of you are shipping out to the Charatta sector to fight heretics as soon as the troop transports arrive! Am I understood?" There was a scattering of "yes sir!" along the line, but most just stood silent and shivered. As the company waited for a time, the roar of the transport's engines were heard as they approached. The guardsmen filed into each one to escape the unforgiving cold in favor of the warmth of the ships.

As the troop transport landed in the hangar, the men inside disembarked and stood at attention before the same man in the peaked cap and greatcoat from before that had stood at the Colonel's side. He started walking slowly up and down the line, staring down each guardsman and looking them over as he came to them. When he reached the side of the line furthest from Nathaniel, he whispered to the man next to him.  
"Who's he? An officer?" The older man next to him stood staring straight ahead bore three golden chevrons on his sleeve and did not wear a helmet, instead wearing some form of headset.  
"Who's that? He is the Commissar..." the sergeant beside him said incredulously as he looked over at the Whiteshield standing to his left. "What part of the world are you from that you can't recognize the hat and sash from the propaganda posters?"  
"Er... well, the-"  
"Care to share what you have to say with the rest of the men, guardsmen?" The Commissar said in a voice barely above a whisper as he somehow appeared before them without them noticing.  
"No sir." Both of them responded as the Commissar then turned and swiftly walked back to his original position in front of the company.  
"I am Commissar Iohannus." The tall and thin man's voice rang out across the assembled force. "It has come to my attention that there are those among you who do not know what a Commissar is. It is my job to ensure you do yours, and in the event you abandon or fail in your duties, I will deal out punishment as listed in the beginning of The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, the book issued to you along with a campaign journal and field gear. To those who have not yet begun reading, I suggest you do so before we reach Charatta. The punishments contained within range from several lashings to any manner of execution I see fit." Somewhere down the line, snickering was heard. "Step forward." The Commissar said coldly as the largest and most heavily muscled man in the company not only stepped forward, but directly up to the Commissar. "Care to share what is so funny, Whiteshield... Harold?" The Commissar asked as he read the guardsman's identification patch on his sleeve.  
"What I find so funny." The large man said as he stepped forward even more, getting in the Commissar's face. "Is that some scrawny little rich boy frak thinks he can threaten me just 'cause he gots the fancy clothes." Iohannus smiled as Harold said this.  
"Spoken like a Catachan. Let me show you why their Colonel filed a request for me to be transferred out of their regiment." Iohannus then grabbed the man's shoulders and his metal glove dispensed a pulse of electricity into the insubordinate guardsman, forcing him to his knees, screaming. Iohannus then delivered a swift but brutal kick to the kneeling man's face, sending him sprawling as he stopped screaming. A pair of naval armsmen stepped forward from the door and carried the unconscious man to the infirmary. "Anyone else wish to question my authority?" Iohannus calmly spoke as he looked about the room. "I thought not. I will tell you now, whatever dreams of heroism or grandeur you had, discard them. You will have a hard enough time just surviving. Many, if not all of you, will meet your ends in this war. Those who survive will move on to the next one. Few of you, if any, will ever return to your homes. Welcome to the Imperial Guard, for it is better to die for the Emperor than live for yourself."

After that speech, Nathaniel and the rest of the men in that group were escorted to their rooms for the voyage. Nathaniel's room had ten dirty bunks, as well as a row of empty lockers in one wall, and a desk with a built-in cogitator. As he stowed his belongings in one of the lockers, other guardsmen came to the room one by one. Eventually, the man who had stood next to Nathaniel in line walked in.  
"Line up in front of the bunks!" He called out. "Time for roll call." The guardsmen quickly stumbled their way into a line. "I am Sergeant Erics, and you are Squad four-eight-five. My squad. Whiteshield Jane?" He called out as he looked down at his list.  
"Here." A short woman that still wore her furs over her uniform on the warm ship with red hair and blue eyes responded.  
"Whiteshield Nathaniel?"  
"Here sir." Nathaniel called out.  
"Whiteshield Arymo?"  
"H-here s-s-sir." a stuttering, lanky man spoke.  
"Whiteshield Bertin?"  
"'Ere sir." The gray haired man said as he swallowed a pill.  
"That medication or recreation?" The sergeant asked.  
"Pain meds sir."  
"Alright then. Whiteshield Riean?"  
"Here your lordship." a man overweight enough to barely fit in his armor said sarcastically. The sergeant gave him a glare before continuing.  
"Whiteshield Jose"  
"Ready to fight for the Emperor sir." A tall red-haired man exclaimed proudly.  
"Good man. Whiteshield Coly?"  
"Here sergeant." a tall white-haired woman said as she snapped to attention.  
"Whiteshield Ruth?"  
"Here." A heavyset green-eyed woman said.  
"Whiteshield Charich?"  
"Here sir." Spoke a bald man wearing a necklace of autogun shells.  
"Alright, that covers roll call. Set your commbead frequency to 448 while onboard the "Righteous Fire". You are all dismissed and have free reign over all areas of the ship not sectioned off by Imperial Navy personnel. Also, stay out of the Engine Temple unless the incredibly unlikely happens and a Tech-Priest allows you in if there is a crisis onboard the ship. Don't get in fights, and a schedule will be posted in the mess hall that will tell you when you are expected to report to the Commissar for inspection." The sergeant then turned and left, leaving the Whiteshields alone in the room.

After they all stowed away their gear and belongings, the Nathaniel and his new squad mates talked to each other as they roamed the ship, looking for the mess hall. Jane, Arymo, Bertin, Riean, Coly and Ruth were all from the hives that never knew the cold of the unending blizzard, protected by their domes, while Jose and Charich were like him and were "Icers" that had lived in cities practically buried in snow. The two groups eventually drifted apart in their search, with Nathaniel's group eventually finding a member of the crew that pointed him in the right direction. Upon reaching the mess hall and getting some food, Nathaniel saw that according to the schedule, he was expected in the Commissar's office for inspection half an hour ago. Stuffing what food he could into his mouth and pockets, Nathaniel took off running, following the directions listed on the paper to the office.

Iohannus looked up from his book as a whiteshield wearing the long coat and furs of the Roszelian regiments hurried into his office and saluted as he stood at attention.  
"I apologize for my tardiness, Commissar sir! I did not know my assigned time until several minutes ago."  
"Take a seat." Iohannus said as he marked his page and tucked the pook into his desk. "Whiteshield Nathaniel Rowley, correct?"  
"Yes Commissar sir." Nathaniel responded, still standing at attention.  
"At ease, at ease. Take a seat." Iohannus said as he scooted his chair closer the the desk and opened up a folder of information on members of the regiment. "You are from the Horoshak region, yes?"  
"Correct, Commissar." Nathaniel said warily.  
"No need to be so tense, guardsman. That earlier display was needed so that I could establish my position in the regiment to the whiteshields, nothing more. It's not like I just go around electrocuting people." Iohannus said as he cracked a grin.  
"If you say so, sir." Nathaniel said as Iohannus sighed in disapointment.  
"Age is seventeen?" Nathaniel gave a nod. "Let's see..." Iohannus said as he shuffles the papers in the folder looking for more info on Nathaniel. "Ah, here we go. Says here you joined the guard because you and your brothers all made a pact about it, but it says they died two years ago from being trapped out in the cold. What made you join anyway?" Iohannus said as leaned forward over the desk.  
"Roszelia, under all the ice and snow, is still a shrine world sir. It is considered an honor to join the ranks of the Hammer of the Emperor." Nathaniel responded.  
"Well, have any occupational knowledge or skills that are useful to the regiment?"  
"I worked in a factory Commissar sir, I know the markings used by the Imperium's manufacturing plants and what order things with those markings go in. I like fixing things too."  
"Ah, that is always useful. I will sign you up for basic tank and heavy weapons maintenance training in the event an Enginseer is not able to do it themself. It will probably only start after this campaign is done, so make it through, all right?" Iohannus asked as he gave a warm and caring smile. "Well, doing an equipment inspection is pointless, seeing as you were just issued yours. Do you have anything to say or ask?"  
"Yes Commissar sir, what is an Enginseer?" as Nathaniel asked this, Iohannus looked back up from the folder he was putting away.  
"Enginseers are Tech-Priests that specialize in repairing the vehicles and equipment we use in the Imperial guard, among other things. You _do_ know what a Tech-Priest is, right?" Iohannus replied in surprise. He sighed when all he received was a blank look from Nathaniel.  
"No, Commissar sir. Are they special members of the Ecclesiarchy?"  
"Tech-Priests are members of a religion parallel to the Imperial Cult that was founded on Mars when Terra first lost contact with all itscolonies around ten thousand years ago. They venerate and control technology in all forms, as well as worship the Emperor as the Omnissaiah, the Machine God. They are the augmented people in the red or black cloaks, though the only one you will see on this ship outside of their Engine Temple, provided nothing is damaged, will be the Archmagos, the head of the Tech-priests involved in this campaign. Any further questions?"  
"No Commissar sir."  
"Well, you may go now. Feel free to come to me at any time." Iohannus said as Nathaniel rose from his seat, saluted, and exited his office.

The rest of the voyage went smoothly, with Nathaniel, Jose, and Charich becoming good friends during it, telling stories and jokes. One day, the Captain's voice came over the ship's PA system.

"Get ready to disembark guardsmen, we have reached the Charatta sector."


	2. Welcome to War

"I miss the snow already" Nathaniel thought as he turned back to his digging. The first few days after deploying onto Charatta IV were dominated by digging bunkers and building fortifications as the heavier pieces of equipment and tanks were ferried down onto the planet from the ship. By the end of the fifth day, Nathaniel and his squad were called to the Colonel's command bunker. After being allowed past a series of guards stationed in the bunker's entrance trench, Nathaniel and his squadmates lined up inside in front of a hololithic display table that was surrounded by an unnaturally fluid and towering man covered completely in augmentations and hidden almost completely by his black robes that bore a sigil of a half-mechanical skull, Colonel Baxter in his well-kept grey uniform, Commissar Iohannus in his ever-present peaked cap and greatcoat, and a shabby old man covered in tattoos and a threadbare old suit.  
"Is everyone here?" The Colonel asked the Sergeant.  
"Yes sir. Squad 485 reporting for duty."  
"Good. You and your men are being sent to scout the still-intact outskirts of a hive that has been destroyed by a group of heretical cultists. Your mission is to determine whether the hive ruins still contain a cultist presence or not. You will be deployed to the eastern fringe via Valkyrie and are expected to Vox back your coordinates and condition every twenty minutes. Reinforcements will be limited as the rest of the regiment and local PDF form a cordon around the hive. Am I being clear?" The Colonel said to the Sergeant and the squad assembled before him.  
"Yes sir!" Their voices rang out.  
"If any of you come across technology that may be of use to us in our endeavors to cleanse this world, please Vox its location and I will have it secured and retrieved." The Archmagos added without looking away from the projector.  
"Anything else, sirs?" The Sergeant asked of the men around the table.  
"No, that is all. There is a Valkyrie waiting for you at the platform." Commissar Iohannus answered as he gestured towards the door with a gloved hand.  
Nathaniel made his way through the small trench system made over the last few days by his regiment to the landing platform where he saw an idling Valkyrie waiting. When the squad assembled there, the Sergeant did a brief headcount and went over the mission's objectives.  
"We are landing in the outskirts of the hive to the west of here, and are expected to remain there until we are able to confirm beyond a doubt whether or not the heretics are still there. The Commissar is leading a squad in from the opposite side, and there is a Tech-Guard force on standby near here in case we find anything potentially useful or salvageable. Who here has Vox training?"  
"I do, boss." Said Riean with a sneer.  
"Whiteshield, call me sir or Sergeant, and you have the job of reporting our position to the Colonel every 20 minutes. Now, everyone get in the Valkyrie!"

"Sir, they have a troop-transporting Valkyrie inbound." The traitor PDF said as he hurried into the Vox tower Lacobis had made into his temporary field headquarters. "It seems to just be a single squad of guardsmen with the grey-white fatigues and silvery flak armor."  
"Is the Inquisitor with them?" Lacobis asked.  
"It doesn't look like it sir."  
"Fetch my brother Hektor and some of his fanatics, let the Imperials think there are only insane and untrained cultists with no power here."  
"Right away sir." The traitor PDF said as he snapped off a salute to his General, a heavily muscled man in Imperial Guard carapace armor and ran out. Lacobis immediately fell to a kneeling position as he felt the room flood with an aura of dark but true power, a feeling of awe and honor filled him as his master slowly stepped down the stairs.  
"My lord, the loyalists approach."  
"Rise, General. I can sense them. You send your brother's men to their deaths, but it is a good move. Not only does the fool get a chance to learn humility, but one of the guardsmen is special. I believe he will prove most... entertaining." The being standing in a massive suit of dull yellow and modified but ancient-looking power armor covered in lightning bolt designs with dozens of bloody skulls hanging off of by cords or impaled on a large spike mounted on his right shoulder guard, said with a deep and booming, yet pleasant voice that all who heard it would call friendly yet awe-inspiring at the same time. He then strode with heavy footsteps over to a Vox receiver and activated it.  
" _This is your master, Warrior-Captain Lenatus the Devastator speaking. There are small forces of Imperials approaching your positions. Followers of Preacher Hektor, seek out the foul worshippers of the Corpse Emperor and smite them for our gods. Soldiers of General Lacobis, pull back to your Valkyries unless you are stationed at a key position. You will set up ambushes and defend them as long as possible. For Chaos_!" Lenatus spoke calmly into the Vox before turning back to Lacobis as he deactivated the receiver. "Time to see if raw belief and love for Khorne can match Guard recruits with at least some training and equipment."

As the Valkyrie touched down on the ground once more and it lowered its ramp, Nathaniel and his squadmates quickly hopped out and took cover in their surroundings like they had been trained. The Sergeant did a quick head-count to ensure everyone was off, then signaled for the Valkyrie to take off. The Sergeant then signaled for the squad to move up to the buildings.  
"Split into teams of three and check the buildings. I'll cover the street." Sergeant Erics said. Nathaniel quickly joined up with Jose and Charich as they moved to go into the building directly to their right. It was a warehouse of some sort, containing nothing but opened and emptied crates. As they were about to move further in, Charich held up his hand.  
"Wait... do you hear that?" He asked as he slowly pointed further in where one could barely see the flickering of a small fire and hear lowered voices. As they cautiously approached with their lasrifles raised, they saw four people sitting around a fire, their skin unnaturally pale, even more so than the icers', or mottled and covered in what appeared to be ritual scarring. Charich set up behind a mostly intact crate and aimed at them. Nathaniel and Jose did the same, before they opened fire. As they shot, three of the cultists were suddenly thrown to the ground as the smell of burnt flesh rose from their smoking bodies. The fourth suddenly sprang to his feet as he let out a scream of rage and ran at them.  
"For the Emperor!" The three guardsmen shouted in response. The cultist reached them and swung his blade wildly, hitting Charich across the chest. As the cultist lifted his blade to strike again, a loud crack sounded as Nathaniel fired his lasrifle point-blank into the cultist's side. The cultist fell to the ground screaming and clutching his side, only to be silenced as Jose plunged his bayonet into the cultist's throat. Nathaniel rushed to Charich.  
"Are you alright?"  
"No, but it won't kill me." Charich responded, wincing as he gingerly touched the gash in his chest.  
" _All teams report_." The staticky voice of Sergeant Erics was heard on their comm-beads.  
"Four heretics purged for the Emperor, Charich was injured." Jose said into his.  
" _Hab-unit clear, nothing._ " Ruth's voice came through.  
" _One cultist slain in the chapel, no injured_." Said Bertin.  
" _Good. All teams regroup in street_." Erics ordered.

Hiding in the alley, Borskall watched the guardsmen as they came out of the buildings, noting that one of the ones who went in the warehouse and their leader were both wounded, though not as badly as he had hoped he would be when Borskall told two of his best men to attack their leader while he was alone in the street. He looked behind him into the alley, beckoning the eight cultists behind him to come closer.  
"FOR THE PREACHER! FOR CHAOS!" He roared as he led them in a charge out of the alley.

Nathaniel whipped around to see a group of cultists charge at them from a side street as they shouted heresies and war cries. They were lead by a man painted in blood and wearing robes.  
"Open fire!" The Sergeant shouted as he raised his chain sword and laspistol. Only a few of he guardsmen were able to fire off shots killing two of the attackers before Borskall and his men were upon them. The cultists wildly cut at anyone in sight, screaming praise to Khorne before the guardsmen regained their bearings and fired upon them. The ensuing battle was a slaughter. Bayonets, lasfire and crude weapons flew everywhere, Nathaniel was wounded very badly at one point when a cultist stabbed right through his coat and got around his flak armor, but he had no choice but to keep fighting against the crazed assault.  
"Fight your way to the outside and slaughter them!" Nathaniel screamed as he bayoneted the cultist who had wounded him, forcing the enemy to the ground before repeatedly stabbing down into him. Within moments, the guardsmen had managed to extract themselves from the fray and formed a circle around the heretics, firing until just their leader remained standing amongst the bleeding and broken bodies.  
"Preacher, I have failed you!" The robed lunatic cried in grief as he charged the circle, only to be bashed in the chest by the stock of Coly's lasrifle as she then brought it to bear and shot him in the head. Nathaniel looked around, seeing that everyone in the squad was somehow still standing, if just barely.  
"Take shelter in the Chapel. We will rest there and patch ourselves up." Sergeant Erics said as he finally lowered his laspistol, convinced that all of the attackers were truly dead.

"Hm, strange. Not a single one of the guardsmen managed to die from your assault. And you said you sent your best followers. Care to explain, Hektor?" Lenatus said as he suddenly appeared before Hektor as he ate his lunch. Nearly choking on his food from surprise, Hektor forced it down and got up from his seat to kneel before his master.  
"My lord, I have no answer for you. I will go and kill the guardsmen myself if that is what you wish." Hektor quickly rambled but was silenced in surprise as Lenatus slowly crouched down and gently took his arm and led him back up to a standing position, then placing his gauntleted hands on Hektor's shoulders in a strangely fatherly gesture.  
"My lord-"  
"Hush Hektor, your job is finished." Lenatus said as he then proceeded to lift his hands to the sided of Hektor's hooded head and tear it clean from his body, which then toppled to the ground.  
"Frakking cultists." Lenatus removed his helmet and spat on the twitching body as he began to peel the flesh from what used to be Hektor's skull. "How long are you going to stand there, General?" he said without turning. "I hope there was no love lost between you and your brother. Take your men and kill the Roszelians."

Nathaniel dreamt that he was in school back home on Roszelia, learning about the history of the Imperium.  
"And in that final battle, the Immortal Emperor of Mankind's Thunder Warriors finally brought unity to Holy Terra, sacrificing themselves to do so." Nathaniel remembered his classes fondly, and particularly he remembered Julia, his childhood love. They would pass notes to eachother in class, and meet after school to go on dates or watch the city's hunters go out in their tanks to kill the furred leviathans that roamed the ice wastes for their furs, meat, and bones that could be used to build sturdy frames for buildings.  
"But, all that is a lie. In fact, very few Thunder Warriors died at all in that final battle. Instead of sacrificing themselves for victory, they won it with almost no effort. Then, what truly killed the Thunder Warriors entered the battle. The Holy Emperor himself and his Custodes. They came to the Thunder Warriors, congratulating them on their victory in the war, then massacring all who still stood. Only a select few, such as the famed hero Alik the Lightning-Bearer and others that were as skilled as him managed to fight their way through the Custodes and escape." Nathaniel looked away from Julia with a start as he realized what the teacher was saying. This was no longer a memory, nobody in his life had ever spouted such heresies. As he stared at the teacher, everything else burned away until it was just him and the teacher. No classroom, no classmates, no Julia. Then, the teacher grew in size until he was as tall as, if not taller, than an adeptus astartes. He realized that it was not in fact his teacher, it was an ancient man with white hair and a beard that went to his waist, wearing dull yellow power armor adorned with skulls and lightning iconography. "I like to think of myself as a messenger of the lesson that no matter what one does, they will still die a needless death for a being they have only heard of. But no matter." The ancient man grinned a nearly-toothless smile as his eyes turned from what one would expect to see in a human face to balls of purple fire. "Time to wake up. Wake up, and Kill."


	3. Wake up, and Kill

Nathaniel's eyes snapped open as it seemed like he was kicked out of his own dream. Before he woke up enough to look around and get his bearings, he saw a boot silently land next to his head, its owner believing him to still be asleep, waking him up fully. As the man paused to look around, Nathaniel looked him over. He wore a form of brown flak armor, indicating he was PDF or a Guardsman. Then, Nathaniel remembered. Only Roszelians had been sent to the hive outskirts so far, meaning this man was an enemy. As the man's head was turned away, Nathaniel slowly drew his combat knife from its sheath on his side and gripped it upside down. Before the man could take another step and move past him, Nathaniel quickly buried it to the hilt in his ankle.  
"Gahhh!" the man cried out as he fell, his wounded leg giving out as its achilles tendon was severed. He continued screaming in pain only to have it reduced to a wet gurgling as the knife was drawn from his leg and plunged into his throat.  
"Stimy, you ok over there? a man called out quietly from somewhere out of Nathaniel's view. "Oh shit, Stimy!" the man called out as he saw the bloodied corpse of his friend.  
"FOR THE EMPEROR!" Nathaniel roared as he leapt to his feet, grabbing his lasrifle as his cry woke his squadmates. The room turned into a maelstrom of red lasers and screaming. "Get to the pedestal and rain fire down on the enemy! The Emperor protects!" Nathaniel heard himself calling out. The Roszelians grouped up around the altar, firing down on the attackers as they tried to use the chapel's pews for cover. When everything finally calmed down, only five members of squad 485 still stood. As they checked the bodies, they discovered that the dead intruders had amulets of Khorne under their armor. They also found the bodies of Jose, Aryamo, Bertin, and Jane. Riean was missing.  
"Shit, some of you fraks lived?" the voice of Riean was heard from the doorway. As everyone turned to look, they saw him enter with two men wearing the same uniforms as those who had just attacked them. In the distance, a someone was heard roaring in anger, and it drew closer. "That's my backup coming. Time to finish off you corpse-worshipping pricks and sell your shit to the General so I can get off this planet." he said with a smirk. The two men to his sides leveled the hellguns they were carrying at Nathaniel and his surviving squad mates. The roars of anger steadily grew closer, until they were almost at the door to the building.  
"YOU TRAITOROUS FRAK! I WILL GUT YOU, BURN YOU AS YOU BLEED TO DEATH, AND GIFT THE ASHES AS AN ANAL SOOTHING POWDER TO A MUTANT WITH AN INFECTED AND FESTERING RASH!" said the extremely enraged Commissar Iohannus as he beheaded one of the hellgunners with his power sabre, and shot the other point-blank in the head with his bolt pistol, causing it to explode into fleshy bits, Riean being splattered with the man's cerebral fluid and blood as he himself was run through by the Commissar. He pushed Riean off the blade, who just stood there in shock before collapsing. Iohannus panted and turned back to the awe-struck Roszelians. "Someone keep him alive. I have a fire to make." he stated as he calmed himself.

The Roszelians huddled outside the chapel as Riean's bloodcurdling screams sounded from within. If they hadn't been wearing their insulating cloth headwraps that covered everything but the tinted goggles they saw the world through, they would've smelled his flesh burning. Eventually, it stopped and the Commissar stepped outside.  
"Commissar sir, how did you know where we were and what Riean was doing?" Nathaniel asked as the Commissar walked towards them.  
"It was a fortunate move he was made the squad's Vox carrier. He reported in that you and your squad were fortifying and resting in the Chapel here like he was supposed to, but the heretic forgot to turn off his Vox as he used his comm-bead to contact the traitor PDF forces that are seemingly assisting or controlling the cultists here. I heard everything, including your cry of devotion and the Sergeant's lack of commanding when Riean had returned to the chapel with a squad of the heretics." He said as he glanced at Erics, deep in conversation with Charich. "From what the Servo-skulls that have been roaming the ruins for technology and informing us of cultist positions have recorded, you played a leading role in several of your recent combats." Iohannus said as he examined Nathaniel. Nathaniel was taken aback as he realized what the Commissar was implying.

Lacobis began to sweat as he realized his position when his scouts reported that the men he sent with the turncoat Riean had been killed. Either he dealt with them immediately, or he ended up like his brother.  
"Lieutenant, bring me the Disciples." he said as his voice broke.  
"Sir... are you sure?" The lieutenant asked with wide eyes as he looked up from his work.  
"No, but I fear it's my only choice." He responded as he shut his eyes and prayed to any being that would listen. The Disciples were a group of mercenary Dark Eldar assassins that his master had gifted him in order to carry out political assassinations across Charotta IV. They worshipped death and had honed their skills to those of master artisans. Lacobis had already lost 86 men to them from not constantly giving them targets. Now, they were his last chance.

Nathaniel was swapping out the power packs in his lasrifle and cleaning the bayonet when he heard the engines of an aircraft approaching. Looking up, he saw a Valkyrie swoop overhead, then turn around and land in the street by the Chapel. Stepping out was a single person, the elderly man with the tattoos and old suit that Nathaniel had seen standing in the command bunker the day before. He walked towards the group as the Valkyrie took off again.  
"Greetings, Lord Inquisitor!" Commissar Iohannus called out to him as he bowed, the Roszelians following his lead and bowing as well.  
"Enough of that, Commissar. This is still a combat situation, don't indicate that I am anything but a surviving civilian to anyone watching."  
"Of course, my lord. my mistake." Iohannus said hurriedly as he motioned for the Rsszelians to stop bowing.  
"I am here because we managed to isolate the location of the traitor PDF's current base. It is a fortified PDF Vox tower that we have confirmed that one General Lacobis and his brother, "Preacher" Hektor, the assumed joint leaders of this cult, are located at. Your squad, and the Commissar's, which have been ordered to move up from the position he left them at and meet us there, are going to storm it and attempt to capture their leaders if possible." the Lord Inquisitor continued. "Here is the data-slate with the directions on how to get there."  
"Forgive me for asking, but are you coming with us my lord?" Iohannus asked.  
"Somebody has to ensure the capture of those heretic's commanders and their continued survival until such a time when we are able to interrogate them." the Lord Inquisitor responded. Their journey to the Vox tower was slow and cautious, seeing cultists overwhelming traitor PDF or being gunned down by them along the way. Everyone stayed completely silent as to not alarm anyone nearby. When they finally reached the Vox tower, they saw what was left of a squad of traitor PDF that had been literally cut to pieces just outside the shut reinforced metal door.  
"What the frak happened here?" Ruth asked in horror, shutting up and continuing forward when the Commissar glared at her. When the group reached the building, they saw a full squad of Roszelians, the squad that the Commissar had been deployed with, approaching the building from the side. After some hushed orders and reorganizing, the guardsmen surrounded the door and the other squad's heavy weapons expert destroyed it, along with a substantial section of the wall around the doorway, with his meltagun. The guardsmen all rushed in, save for Nathaniel and Charich, who were ordered to guard the door. The Inquisitor and the Commissar were also with them. Nathaniel scanned the buildings around them. Then, he saw something in the corner of his eye, inside the tower. He quickly turned to look, not taking any chances. What he saw turned his blood cold. The guardsmen in the bottom floor of the tower were all facing outwards, examining equipment and papers, not seeing the eleven people sneaking behind them, all wearing form-fitting robes and pointed helmets that looked suspiciously like those that there were pictures of in his Primer, helmets that belonged to...  
"ELDAR!" he cried out as he brought his lasrifle around and fired on the evil xenos. Upon knowing that they have been seen, the Dark Eldar assassins rushed forward and dispatched nine of the guardsmen from the other squad with ease. They moved with unnatural grace, going so fast that it was hard to tell whether they had walked past someone or run them through, and almost seemed to be dodging the lasrifle beams. A single beam caught one off-guard, and the Commissar, taking advantage of this, fired his bolt pistol at them, blowing off one of their arms and most of their upper chest with it, but it just kept going, seemingly unhindered. All the guardsmen inside the room were dead within seconds, with only Coly still standing. She looked right at Nathaniel as she was stabbed simultaneously by three of the assassins and crumpled to the ground.  
"Purge the Xenos!" Commissar Iohannus cried out as he fired into the mass of assassins swarming at them. Nathaniel dove to the side as they burst from the building, landing painfully on something hard. As he lifted himself, he saw the meltagun. Picking it up and aiming it at the assassins rushing past him, he pulled the trigger. Instantly, eight of them found themselves reduced to charred pieces of meat as they hit the ground, half vaporized from running through the beam. The last three managed to stop themselves in time, only to be fired upon by the Commissar. One lost his head as another's leg was blown off, and the third, being the one that lost his arm earlier, lost his other arm. The Commissar hurried forward and finished off the two still alive with his power sabre.  
"No!" an anguished cry was heard from the top of the Vox tower. As Nathaniel, the Lord Inquisitor, who had just been calmly standing back from the situation the whole time, and the Commissar, the only people still alive, turned to look, they saw a man in Imperial Guard carapace armor looking over the edge at them. "You've killed me! When The Master learns that I have failed again, I'm finished! I'm gonna end up like Hektor!" the man cried down at them. Before they could rush inside and up to get him, he stood on the ledge and shouted deliriously with fear. "I'm done for! I'm going to die no matter what!" he then leapt from the tower. About halfway down, as he was screaming in terror, a huge but human-looking arm shot out from one of the windows and grabbed his leg, drawing him inside within the blink of an eye as the screaming stopped. He reappeared, his body tumbling from the window, but was now missing his head as it fell to the ground with a sickening crunch.

After searching the tower, the trio found nothing but the bodies of their fallen comrades and those of traitor PDF who had killed themselves instead of allowing themselves to be captured. They eventually came to a room where a headless corpse hung by its thumbs in the doorway. It wore black robes and was covered in metal medallions and badges of Khorne and Chaos. Its right hand was covered with metal finger-guards that had blades attached.  
"This body matches the recordings we have of Preacher Hektor when he would address his side of the cult." the Lord Inquisitor said as he cut the body down with a knife and continued through the doorway. Inside, there was a massive man sitting on a stone bench facing away from them. From what they could see, he was working on something in his hands, and he had long grey-white hair that reached to his waist. He wore simple white robes around his bottom half. His upper body was littered with surgically-implanted metal plates with plug-in points that were scattered symmetrically across his back and arms. To one knowledgeable enough in such things, they would appear to be an ancient, mechanical version of the modern Adeptus Astartes Black Carapace implant. Near him was pieces of a suit of ancient yellow power armor on a rack, with one of the shoulder guards bearing a multitude of skulls either impaled on a spike or attached to it by cord.  
"In the name of the Holy God-Emperor of Mankind, face us with your hands in the air." the Lord Inquisitor called out as he drew a pistol of some kind and aimed it at the giant of a man. The man then stood and turned around slowly, revealing an aged face with one milky white eye, a beard that fell to his waist and a nearly-toothless smile. He then raised his hands, revealing what he had been holding. It was the bloody head of General Lacobis, the man who had tried to jump to his death, half-stripped of its flesh.  
"Hello Lord Inquisitor." he said in a raspy voice. Nathaniel nearly staggered back as he realized this is the "man" that was in his dream, the one who had saved his life from the traitor PDF that were sneaking into the chapel by waking him up.  
"Hello Lenatus." the Inquisitor spat.  
"My my, such rudeness for greeting an old friend." Lenatus said as he chuckled and shook his head.  
"Inquisitor, you know this man?" the Commissar questioned.  
""Man" Is hardly what I would call a Daemon Prince, but yes." The Inquisitor responded as Lenatus' grin grew even wider. Both the Commissar and Nathaniel gasped in shock. "Daemon Prince Lenatus the Devastator is a former Adeptus Astartes that secretly fell to chaos some time before the Horus Heresy. He wears the armor of the God-Emperor's personal legion for the unification of terra, the Thunder Warriors, to mock us."  
"That, and they serve as a bit of a symbol to those knowledgeable enough. Blindly following their leader, only to be shot in the backs by the man they laid down their lives for. I learned of this, and saw how the same thing has essentially been occurring since the Emperor gained control of humanity. Billions die every day for the appeasement of a group of old men drunk with power on a world they have only heard of, for a reward, if there is any, they will never live to see. I find it difficult to follow anyone willing to throw away such a magnitude of lives. Ensuring loyalty and faith in an age like this is necessary, but it is another thing to burn entire worlds just to destroy one group or person, don't you think? Ah well, I have overstayed my welcome. I sincerely hope you all survive this, it will be interesting to see how you deal with Soroshok." Lenatus corrected, lowering his hands and crushing Lacobis's skull as his eyes turned to purple fire. He threw it to the ground, the purple fire spreading along his body, with large flames appearing on all of his implants. These flames erupted into an inferno as the entire room was engulfed. Nathaniel flew back as the force of the explosion blasted him through the wall, falling to the ground below.

Nathaniel slowly woke as pain flared throughout his entire body. Cracking his eyes open, he saw that he was covered in bandages and casts. Looking around, he was in the medical station back at the trench line. He was one of the few people there, all whom had been sent into the city having died but those who confronted the Daemon Prince. He drifted back into unconsciousness as his pain grew too great.


End file.
